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Robert Harvey Brown III
Robert Harvey Brown III is a registered citizen of Columbia. Early Life. Mr. Robert Harvey Brown III was born on September 7, 1850 in Paterson, New Jersey. He was born into a wealthy and influential German-Hungarian family that owned many silk mills throughout New Jersey. His family members were all Catholic and possessed conservative republican views. During his childhood, he was bullied severely by other children because of his glasses and lanky build. He was also bullied because he did not look like any of the other children in his town. He had brown hair and brown eyes while many of the other children had blonde hair and blue eyes. The children who bullied him eventually learned to respect and sometimes be intimidated by him due to the fact that by the time he was eighteen, he was 6 ft. 6 in. During high school he worked part-time as a carpenter. After finishing High School, he was accepted into Harvard University. While studying there, he earned his medical degree and mortuary science degree. He also dabbled in engineering. He later graduated at the top of his class. Columbia. After finishing college and leaving Harvard, he become a coroner for two years and later an undertaker. While enbalming a body in 1884, he learned of the City of Columbia from his assistant. After learning of Columbia, he knew that he must go there. He later became a citizen of Columbia in 1885. He became Columbia's coroner and undertaker and owned the morgue and funeral home. While there, he met a woman named Grace Brown. They were later married. Soon after Grace became pregnant with a son. On April 15, 1886, Robert and Grace, along with their unborn son, were passengers aboard one of Columbia's magnificent airships. While they were aboard it, something went horribly wrong; causing the airship to crash. Robert was severely injured and Grace, along with her unborn child, was killed. He would later have to enbalm his own wife's body. The crash injured Robert's spine. He did recover but it left him with several disabilities such as; an inability to turn his head, rigid posture, and a limp. He swore to himself that he would wear black clothing everyday for his deceased wife and child. Those who did not know his name simply knew him as the "Man in Black." IFT. After his recovery he began working on an invention called IFT. IFT was a surveillance machine that saw everything, every hour of every day. It was made to detect acts of terror, but it saw everything around Columbia. Hunted by the authorities, Mr. Brown worked in secret. No one knew about IFT except Robert. After finishing IFT, he adopted some simple hobbies. These hobbies were playing chess, collecting rare books, and poker. He was a very skilled poker player. Tragic and Mysterious End. He stayed in Columbia until 1925. He was found dead in his home, at his desk, with what seemed to be a self inflicted gunshot to the head. It seemed that he stole a pistol from one of Columbia's law enforcement officers. Infront of him, on his desk, was his Bible. Two notes were found in his pockets. One note said, "If they don't want you to get inside, they ought to build it better." The other note said, "Not everything that's broken is meant to be fixed." These two notes with enigmatic messages written on them, are the last words of Mr. Robert Harvey Brown III. Some believe he committed suicide to be with his wife again, some believe he was suffering from a mental illness, and some even believe that he didn't kill himself; that it was just staged to look like a suicide. The reason for his death will never be known. What will be known is that Robert Harvey Brown III died on July 13, 1925 of a gunshot to the head, and he left behind two mysterious messages. He left no last will and testament. The inscription on his tombstone reads: Robert Harvey Brown III Sept. 7, 1850 --- Jul. 13, 1925. Beloved Husband, Father, Son, "Man in Black." '' ''"Not everything that's broken is meant to be fixed." Ironically, after he died, there was no longer a coroner or undertaker so his body was unable to be enbalmed. He was buried in Columbia's Cemetery, next to his wife.